STARKVILLE — Quinndary Weatherspoon wasn’t pleased with his performance Wednesday.
The Mississippi State men’s basketball sophomore guard/forward scored 13 points, but he was 3 of 14 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range as MSU lost 67-65 to East Tennessee State to snap a three-game winning streak. The Canton native was 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
Weatherspoon hopes to have a better performance as MSU (6-3) plays in-state foe Southern Mississippi (3-5) at 8 p.m. today (ESPNU) in the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. It is the first installment of a four-year agreement, called the Capital City Showdown.
“I don’t think they were doing anything spectacular, I just couldn’t get it going,” Weatherspoon said. “I wasn’t shooting the ball real good, so I’m going to try to get in the gym (Thursday) and get some shots up and get prepared for Monday night.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Weatherspoon leads MSU with 17.6 points per game. He is shooting 45.5 percent (40 of 88) from the field and 34.4 percent (11 of 32) from 3-point range.
Weatherspoon missed two games in late November with a wrist injury. He was expected to be out for the rest of the season after he underwent surgery, but he elected to play through the injury and have the surgery after the season. Weatherspoon said his wrist didn’t play a factor in his performance against the Buccaneers.
“I thought that Q in the first half was taking a couple of quick shots and shooting jump shots, rather than attacking the rim, not letting it come to him enough,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “He’s got to be more patient and let the game come to him. I thought the second half he did a better job and settled down. He’s got to play more under control because he’s our best player and we expect so much of him because of that. He’s just a sophomore and he’s still learning and he’s got to learn from this.”
Along with Weatherspoon, MSU has four other players averaging double figures. Sophomore forward Aric Holman is averaging 11.2 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Senior point guard I.J. Ready is averaging 10.8 points, freshman guard Mario Kegler is averaging 10.3 points and freshman guard Tyson Carter is averaging 10.2 points.
The Bulldogs lost to the Buccaneers on a last-second tip-in.
“We have to watch film and move on to the next one. We can’t do anything about this one, it’s in the past,” Holman said.
The Golden Eagles have lost four in a row. Senior guard/forward Quinton Campbell is averaging 11.9 points, while sophomore forward Tim Rowe is averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game.
MSU and USM are meeting for the first time since MSU won 75-68 in the 2001 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). MSU leads the overall series 14-4, but USM is 2-1 in the series in Jackson.
Weatherspoon is anxious to get back on the court and get his game going in the right direction.
“I’m going to try to get in the gym, get a work out and get a couple hundred shots up and tried to be prepared for Monday night when we head to Jackson,” Weatherspoon said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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